nder it?

Yes, again, was the answer.

But how many of them felt they could recommend it and have it be adopted?

Very few hands went up.

Why?

The plan seems “too rich” one of them pointed out. It’s “too good” another one said. I think what they were really saying is it’s too obvious and too simple!

Of course, I took these remarks and conc

I just finished reading an article by Jack Trout at Forbes.com.

He is the pioneer of the concept of “positioning,” and author of at least a few books.

Recently, he discovered a book dating back to around 1916 that offers certain business secrets, and one of them boils down to seeking simplicity in your sales and marketing program.

If your approach is too clever, as Peter F. Drucker once characterized many modern contrivances, it is bound to fail.

One of the points Trout gets from the old tome, “Obvious Adams,” is that an idea upon being heard should “explode” in the listener’s mind. He should ask, “Why didn’t we think of that, before?”

Last week, I conducted a new seminar in Sao Paulo, Brazil. My audience consisted of about one hundred sales managers, directors, and business owners, and we covered in depth the topic of motivating and compensating sellers.

I reviewed five different psychologies and then tied them into typical compensation formulas. This is good stuff.

But then, I unveiled a pay plan that in my experience is the very best one of all. It keeps top sellers’s noses happily to the grindstone and it produces overall equity.

Someone who sells three times more will earn triple what his peer earns. But this isn’t a harsh commission-only plan.

Anyway, it is very simple.

I asked everyone in the room if THEY would like to be paid this way. Nearly all would, and would their salespeople like it and perform well under it?

Yes, again, was the answer.

But how many of them felt they could recommend it and have it be adopted?

Very few hands went up.

Why?

The plan seems “too rich” one of them pointed out. It’s “too good” another one said. I think what they were really saying is it’s too obvious and too simple!

Of course, I took these remarks and conce

clever, as Peter F. Drucker once characterized many modern contrivances, it is bound to fail.

One of the points Trout gets from the old tome, “Obvious Adams,” is that an idea upon being heard should “explode” in the listener’s mind. He should ask, “Why didn’t we think of that, before?”

Last week, I conducted a new seminar in Sao Paulo, Brazil. My audience consisted of about one hundred sales managers, directors, and business owners, and we covered in depth the topic of motivating and compensating sellers.

I reviewed five different psychologies and then tied them into typical compensation formulas. This is good stuff.

But then, I unveiled a pay plan that in my experience is the very best one of all. It keeps top sellers’s noses happily to the grindstone and it produces overall equity.

Someone who sells three times more will earn triple what his peer earns. But this isn’t a harsh commission-only plan.

Anyway, it is very simple.

I asked everyone in the room if THEY would like to be paid this way. Nearly all would, and would their salespeople like it and perform well under it?

Yes, again, was the answer.

But how many of them felt they could recommend it and have it be adopted?

Very few hands went up.

Why?

The plan seems “too rich” one of them pointed out. It’s “too good” another one said. I think what they were really saying is it’s too obvious and too simple!

Of course, I took these remarks and conc

isted of about one hundred sales managers, directors, and business owners, and we covered in depth the topic of motivating and compensating sellers.

I reviewed five different psychologies and then tied them into typical compensation formulas. This is good stuff.

But then, I unveiled a pay plan that in my experience is the very best one of all. It keeps top sellers’s noses happily to the grindstone and it produces overall equity.

Someone who sells three times more will earn triple what his peer earns. But this isn’t a harsh commission-only plan.

Anyway, it is very simple.

I asked everyone in the room if THEY would like to be paid this way. Nearly all would, and would their salespeople like it and perform well under it?

Yes, again, was the answer.

But how many of them felt they could recommend it and have it be adopted?

Very few hands went up.

Why?

The plan seems “too rich” one of them pointed out. It’s “too good” another one said. I think what they were really saying is it’s too obvious and too simple!

Of course, I took these remarks and conc

lers’s noses happily to the grindstone and it produces overall equity.

Someone who sells three times more will earn triple what his peer earns. But this isn’t a harsh commission-only plan.

Anyway, it is very simple.

I asked everyone in the room if THEY would like to be paid this way. Nearly all would, and would their salespeople like it and perform well under it?

Yes, again, was the answer.

But how many of them felt they could recommend it and have it be adopted?

Very few hands went up.

Why?

The plan seems “too rich” one of them pointed out. It’s “too good” another one said. I think what they were really saying is it’s too obvious and too simple!

Of course, I took these remarks and conc

nder it?

Yes, again, was the answer.

But how many of them felt they could recommend it and have it be adopted?

Very few hands went up.

Why?

The plan seems “too rich” one of them pointed out. It’s “too good” another one said. I think what they were really saying is it’s too obvious and too simple!

Of course, I took these remarks and concerns as an opportunity to pitch my on site consulting. My life is all about introducing change into organizations, and whenever I can generate an idea that “explodes” in the mind, I know it’s going to do very well in boosting sales.